Selling a junk car in Mint Hill

Inspectors can come on the property

Section 12-80 hands private-property cases to the code enforcement officer or another designated official. Those officials "shall have the right, upon presentation of proper credentials, to enter on any premises within the town limits at reasonable hours to inspect vehicles." Police handle cars abandoned on streets and on town property.

Removal orders under Section 12-83 need agreement from the town administrator or the planning/zoning coordinator, plus a written finding "that the aesthetic benefits of removing the vehicle outweigh the burdens imposed on the private property owner."

Fifteen days, mailed and posted

Mint Hill gives notice two ways at once. Section 12-84 uses the mail when names and addresses can be found, and "In addition, notice shall be given by affixing on the windshield or some other conspicuous place on the vehicle." Removal waits until "no sooner than 15 calendar days after the notice is affixed or mailed." To contest it, write to the board of commissioners and file that appeal with the code enforcement officer inside 15 calendar days.

Section 12-90 bars town removal from private land "without a written request of the owner, occupant or lessee of the property except in the cases where a vehicle is a nuisance vehicle or is a junked motor vehicle which has been ordered removed by the code enforcement officer."

If the town already towed it

Section 12-86 requires the town to notify the last registered owner after a tow, by phone if possible and in writing by mail. For a car registered in North Carolina, "notice shall be given within 24 hours"; for an out-of-state car, within 72 hours. Section 12-88 lets an owner recover the car "by paying the towing fee, including any storage charges, or by posting a bond for double the amount of such fees and charges."

Front yards and driveways

The town's development rules also limit where a car can sit. In residential areas, Section 6.3 bars parking or storing vehicles between the street line and the building setback line, except cars parked on a driveway or parking area with a dust free surface. A dead car on the front lawn is out of bounds even before it counts as junked.

Title and plates

Both of Mint Hill's counties, Mecklenburg and Union, test emissions, and the yearly safety inspection applies statewide. Titles come from NCDMV, not either county; a plate agency or the mail gets them there. One office we checked, 3250 Wilkinson Blvd., Suite G, Charlotte, lies about 14 miles west of central Mint Hill as the crow flies.

Mint Hill sellers sign the title's back with a notary watching. For a Mint Hill sale, buyer and seller then add their names and addresses, the sale date, mileage when required, and the damage disclosure. Plates belong to you. Mint Hill plates with no other car to go on go to a plate agency or by mail to NCDMV Vehicle Registration Section, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27697-3148, while your policy is still active. Mint Hill drivers with an out-of-date sticker stay legal through the 15th of the month after, until midnight that day. See car sitting for years.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form with the car's year and model, the miles, how the title stands, and if the engine catches. A truck can collect it from under the tarp out back, from a garage, or from a shop. Matthews lies 5.1 miles away and Indian Trail 7.6; the North Carolina page has statewide rules.